by: Elliot Sobocinski

Tony Hawk

Honestly, skateboarding may not be what it is today if it were not for Tony Hawk. Tony Hawk would be considered the goat of skateboarding. He made skateboarding popular through all of the video games that he has released throughout the years. In games like Tony Hawk Pro Skater and Proving Grounds, you could do any trick they wanted to and live like a skateboarding legend. Everyone knows who Tony Hawk is whether you have skateboarded or not. The man has made a big impact on the world through his skateboard.

A brief history

It all started when some surfers wanted people like you to experience surfing on the pavement. So they put a mini surf board on wheels. Since then, skateboarding went from being a toy to being a sport. The clothing industry focused more and more on skateboarding as Vans was established in 1966. The original surfboard on wheels got upgrades like a kicktail, new wheels and trucks, and duct tape. Rodney Mullen expanded the ollie to a kickflip and many other basic tricks. New tricks are constantly being made and will always be. In 1981, magazines like the thrasher were being created. In the early 1990s, mega events like the XGames and Street League were created. Skating moved on to the digital world through television, video games and social media, but not much else has happened. The most recent news is that skateboarding will make its Olympic debut at the Tokyo 2020 Games.

Tricks

Ten basic tricks are the ollie, kickflip, nollie, heelflip, wallride, pop shove it, no comply, grind, boardslide, and the axle stall. Ollies are the most basic trick that a lot of people know or at least attempted. For those who do not know, an ollie is when a person uses two feet and the back tail to get a board. Every beginner learns the ollie as their first trick. The kickflip uses the same concept but the person kicks out with the front foot to make the board flip. Nollie is using the nose for the ollie. A heelflip is the opposite direction of the kickflip. The pop shove it incorporates the ollie but has the board spin one hundred and eighty degrees. The no comply has the person using his or her front foot to help the skater to do a one eighty. A wallride is riding on the wall, while grinding is using trucks on a rail to slide and a boardslide is using the board to slide. The axle stall is a simple trick on a halfpipe where the skater stops on the metal part at the top with the trucks on it. The video below shows some of the tricks and more

Click here for a full list of skateboard tricks

Types of Skateboarding

There are also different types of skateboarding that you can do. The different types are slalom, downhill, freestyle, street, vert, park, pool, cruising and off road. Some types you may need a longboard instead of a skateboard. Slalom, downhill, and off road all require a longboard and off road needs a special longboard with big wheels and feet holders similar to a snowboard. Slalom, street, vert, park and pool needs a skateboard to do them. Cruising is literally from point A to point B and can use any skateboard. People can try anyone of the styles and do not have to do any one. Below are pictures showing what each one is like.

Slalom

Downhill

Freestyle

Vert

Park

Pool

Cruising

Off Road

Skateboarding Culture

In skateboarding, there are no teams or rules so skateboarders have a lot of freedom. This allows a lot of creativity and fun. You can wear whatever you want and most skateboarders dress comfortably. Skateboarding can often be associated with rebellion, anti-establishment and graffiti. Skateboarding was actually born during the counterculture movement. The reason that pool skateboarding was invented was because boys would go into people’s drained pools and skateboard. Skateboarding was considered rebellious because some people would skate everywhere and do illegal things. Because skateboarding is so filled with freedom, some people took the freedom above culture norms and even the law. Some artists would vandalize public and private spaces. Skateboarding even clashed with punk rock in a new genre called skate punk. Now the skateboarding culture is generally creative, free, positive and fun that everyone should try.